Is your life black and white? Not in the sense that it lacks colour, but because there are some things that you don’t do because you walk by the Spirit? In this sermon, Paul Sherwood examines how we can walk by the Spirit, not doing those things that lead to death, and doing those things that please God. Integral to this is listening to God, however he wants to speak to us.  

http://newcitychurch.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/181028_Sermon_RW.mp3 In this sermon, Richard Wardman ponders the meaning of adoption, and how, in a spiritual sense, it is a picture of our relationship with God. In the same way, adopting or fostering a child is a great way of sharing God’s love with another person. It requires love, sacrifice and sharing of all that you have, just as Jesus Christ did for us.  

http://newcitychurch.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/181014_Sermon_RW..mp3 Sometimes, we follow God because we love Him and want to do his will. At other times, we may be at risk of believing His word not because we love Him, but because we love the blessings we get from God. To find out what really motivates us, love for God or love of blessing, the blessing needs to be put on the line so that we can see for ourselves what is motivating us. Abraham’s response – love for God, reverent fear for God and trust in Him and his unfailing love – are proofs of Abraham’s faith when he was asked to sacrifice Isaac. He wasn’t holding back! In this sermon, Richard explores how far we will go to follow God’s promises.

  http://newcitychurch.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/181007_Sermon_RW.mp3 Abraham has been waiting for God’s promises: a son by Sarah, a land of his own, and descendants more numerous than the stars in the sky. In this morning’s sermon, we see the first promise being realized: Isaac is born, the son through Sarah; but his infancy is described in just 7 verses, with the emphasis on Abraham and Sarah! It’s about how they trusted in God’s word to them – and why we can do the same. We can also rely on God’s care, even when things seem to be as bad as they can get – as Hagar and Ishmael found out. And finally, why we can rest in God’s peace, even when His promises have not yet fully come into being – because they will. But listen in to see why Richard starts with an Argos catalog…

http://newcitychurch.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/180923_Sermon_RW.mp3 The Church’s Mission is to go into all the world and make disciples. But how do we do that? Often, reflecting on why we are not better at passing on the gospel, it seems that we need to pray for more opportunities, to be clearer (and more enthusiastic) about passing on the good news, and to live lives that back up our words. This sermon focuses on how we pray for those things.

  http://newcitychurch.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/180916_Sermon_RW-1.mp3 As the second part of our 2018 “Season of Prayer”, we look at 1 Corinthians 12, in order to consider how we can pray for the gifting that is necessary for us to serve God. We can pray for folks who don’t yet know their gift(s), those who don’t think that they have a gift from God, and those who think that they have all the gifts (and therefore can survive without working with others). *Note* The first six and a half minutes of this recording are a testimony from Julia Baldwin, one of the members at New City Church, on how she learned to improve her prayer life.

http://newcitychurch.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/180909_Sermon_RW.mp3 Today, Richard Wardman talks to us about Gospel-driven prayer: praying for other people out of love, that they might grow into maturity in their following Christ, and praying for fruitfulness as Jesus’ love works in us to produce the fruit of the spirit, as well as bringing others into the  knowledge and acknowledgement of Jesus. This sermon starts the New City Church Season of Prayer, which runs for three weeks. *Note* This post starts with the testimony of one of our members, Diane Midwinter, talking about how she learned to pray. This occupies the first six minutes of the audio segment.

http://newcitychurch.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/180901_Sermon_RW.mp3 When God and Abraham debate what might happen to Sodom, was Abraham wrangling with God for concessions to prove that God is a righteous and just God? That’s the traditional view. In this sermon, we hear what it is to be just and righteous – and full of compassion and mercy, as we see God training Abraham to see His rightness and justice, and to live it out. We are challenged to pray like Abraham – both bold and humble at the same time, as we seek to walk in justice and compassion on behalf of those who do not know Him.

http://newcitychurch.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/180826_Sermon_RW.mp3 In Genesis 18: 1-15, Richard shows us how God dealt with Sarah, the wife of Abraham. She doubted God’s promise, by laughing; why did she do that, and what did it mean? How do we – and God – respond to the paradox of wanting to believe God, but at the same time doubting His promise? Richard looks at how we can work through our doubts and difficulties in our relationship with God.

Have you ever made a huge mess of life? A life-changing mess that can’t be undone? Meet Sarai, a woman who ran straight into a horrible mess of her own creation. She hadn’t yet got what God had promised, so she tried to fix it in her own way and caused complete chaos in her family the process. But God didn’t give up on Sarai. The mess wasn’t the end of her story. And what about when you face hardships and trouble that others have brought on you; do you run away from them like Hagar? We read of how God met Hagar in the midst of her troubles in Genesis 16. God does not abandon us in even the most difficult situations. Hear the stories of Sarai and Hagar, two women who ran into serious troubles, and discover how God is bigger than the messes we create or find ourselves in. Listen to a story of sin and chaos met by the grace, mercy, and redemption of God in this week’s Bible talk.